On August 28, Destroyer returns with a new full-length, Poison Season, followed by a world tour. In addition, Destroyer will concurrently release a two-song 12-inch as a companion to the new album. It includes a remix of Forces From Above along with the orchestral Times Square, Poison Season, a song that gave rise to several tracks on the new album, as detailed below.

”The first and last songs are actually one song tracked live with quintet”, explains Dan. “I even sang with the band. That song always swung between super austere and super mid-’70s Springsteen/Bowie street-rock. In the end, I decided I wanted both. I couldn’t really figure out a way to sequence the orchestral version within the record, so I decided to carve it up as a book-ending motif, with the rock version squarely in the middle.”

Mr. Bejar has long displayed a chameleonic instinct for change while maintaining a unified aesthetic (rather than just pinballing between reference points). No two records sound the same, but they’re always uniquely Destroyer. His latest incarnation often appears to take sonic cues from a distinctly British (usually Scottish, to be precise) strain of sophisti-pop: you might hear traces of Aztec Camera, Prefab Sprout, Orange Juice, or The Blow Monkeys. These songs merge a casual literary brilliance within intense melodic verve, nimble arrangements, and a certain blue-eyed-soul sadness.

Pre-order the album on CD or double-LP now at poisonseason.com or digitally via iTunes.

Grant is an editor and freelance journalist specialising in music reviews.
Since graduating with a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing he has worked with a number of prominent music publications as a contributor and subeditor.